Annie At Curve Theatre, Leicester Review

Reviewed by Julie Hayward

It was my first time visiting this theatre. It is situated quite close to the city centre in the Cultural Quarter. There is an NCP carpark (Rutland Centre Carpark) within a minute’s walk, however the Curve’s website advised that there are often queues to enter and exit at busy periods, so I opted to park in Dover Street, about a five-minute walk away.
Curve Theatre is a very impressive, architect designed building. The exterior, as the name suggests is curved, constructed in 2008, is mainly glass and steel. I was surprised to learn that there is no conventional back stage area, from the foyer we could see behind the scenes and spot some of the prop’s close-up.

Annie is however familiar to me, I have seen the various film versions many times and I was looking forward to seeing it performed live, as an on-stage musical. With Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel Horwood, who incidentally I have seen perform before in Panto and he makes an excellent villain, so really excited to see his portrayal as the ghastly Miss Hannigan.

The children who played ‘The orphans’ were very cute and all very talented, along with our lead actress Annie, they danced and sang brilliantly.

The songs were sung with energy and gusto, all the songs that I expected, like “It’s the hard knock life” and “Tomorrow” were brilliant and a few that I wasn’t anticipating too.

Craig did not disappoint, he was both hilarious and hideous, at the same time. I bet they had so much fun in rehearsals. I expected his dancing ability to be excellent, but I was amazed how well he could sing too, he sang ‘little girls’ solo and performed ‘easy street’ superbly with Rooster, played by Paul French and Lily, played by Billy-Kay.

The telling of the story doesn’t get lost amongst all of the singing and dancing, as it can in some musicals. The scene changes between the dismal 1930’s New York orphanage and the affluent home of the millionaire Oliver Warbucks were simple yet effective, it helped the audience to hope for a better ‘tomorrow’ for little Annie.

Mr Warbucks, played by Alex Bourne and his assistant Grace Farrell, played by Amelia Adams, along with the ensemble, performed fabulously choreographed dance routines.

Annie, played by Zoe Akinyosade, has a bright future ahead of her, at just nine years old she is very confident on the stage. I look forward to seeing her as her glittering career unfolds, she is what is known as a triple threat, she can act, dance and sing.

If you want an uplifting evening out to brighten up these winter nights, I say go and book your tickets for the opportunity to see a West End Musical at the convenience of being at your local theatre. Annie is full of laughter, songs, and dance. The audience were up on their feet and gave a standing ovation, Annie has everything that a musical needed for you to enjoy a great evening of entertainment.

Rating: 5/5

Annie is at The Curve Theatre from Saturday 25th Feb to Saturday 4th March 2023
For more information or to book tickets Email tickets@curvetheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 0116 242 3595

The Curve Theatre, Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB